


Yesterday's Tomorrow

by Lucifuge5



Category: due South
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: au_bingo, M/M, Pre-Slash, corvix!fraser
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-28
Updated: 2011-02-28
Packaged: 2017-10-16 00:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucifuge5/pseuds/Lucifuge5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"But you're doing the mind reading thing right now, Fraser."</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yesterday's Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to [Until the End of Time](http://archiveofourown.org/works/108307) in which Fraser is an alien. Post-CotW. Written for the "Other: Aliens" prompt for AU_bingo.

A week into his new partnership with Fraser, Ray realized that "bizarre" was too small a word for the likes of his Canadian partner.

Back when they first offered him the undercover gig, they kept throwing off a whole lotta words that start with "u" such as "uncommon", "unnatural" and "uncanny". Ray kept waiting for them to tell him that it was all a prank. The longer the final interview before he signed on to become Vecchio went, however, the more curious he got about the Mountie dude.

Fraser was a freak of the first order. Ray liked using that word to describe him; it was a thing, _their_ thing.

What he didn't know then was how freak didn't even cover one tenth of the situation.

~*~

Something in Fraser's smile when they jumped out of Muldoon's plane-- _without_ parachutes, thank you very much--gave Ray bigger chills than all the goddamn snow and the chilly wind blowing all around them. He had this goofy smile as he took in their surroundings. But more than that, he looked like he had gotten to heaven. The way Ray figured, being back in Canada was a Mountie's idea of paradise.

As for Ray, he started to feel angsty the longer they stayed. Up and down a mountain they went during their hunt for Muldoon. At one point, there was a Russian submarine and parachuting Mounties (which only helped to reinforce the fact that Fraser was several continents away from normal.) It was very exciting, but Ray couldn't shake off the fear that Fraser wasn't coming back to Chicago with him. He was Ray's best friend. Well, at least that Ray's mind kept saying. His heart, on the other hand, hurt at the idea of not seeing him every day, of losing their bond.

Ray was all tied up inside by the time he sent Muldoon to Mountie jail and said his good-byes to the Ice Queen (who surprised everyone by getting all in Fraser's space like she was that chick from _Gone with the Wind_ ) and Turnbull (who _didn't_ surprise anyone when tears began to roll down his face as he saluted Fraser one last time before following Thatcher back to Mountie HQ.)

By 6 p.m., the only person Fraser had to say good-bye to was Ray.

Ray was playing tug of war with Dief and another dog when Fraser walked up to them. He cleared his throat and stood at parade rest. "I've spoken with Sgt. Frobisher and he's informed me that not only has the RCMP reviewed their position on my, ahem, earlier exile to the States. As a result of that I can choose any posting I want."

"So," Ray said as he picked up a stick and threw it as far away as he could, keeping his eyes on Dief and the other dog as they chased off after it, "you're not coming back with me then."

And here, ladies and gentlemen is where Fraser had his number one millionth moment of freakdom. He licked his lips (which most probably tasted like Vaseline just like Ray's.) "Well, Ray, as a matter of fact, I am. But first, how about going off in that adventure you were talking about?"

Ray grinned like he'd won by TKO right then and there, and softly punched his shoulder. "Deal."

~*~

Three weeks later, Ray's body was sore whether he sat in the sled, helped Fraser feed the dogs, secure the tent or cook some grub.

Early one morning, he scanned the sky, biting back his worries. His head had been not-quite-aching for a few days on and off. Maybe he was catching a cold. There was no one else for miles and miles. _"What if something happened?"_ he thought as he sucked his teeth.

_"Don't worry. We'll be safe"_

"Huh?" Ray said, stretching his neck up though the most he could see of Fraser was the underside of his jaw. His voice sounded off.

He looked down at Ray, the sun's reflection on his goggles blinding him for a second, and patted him on the shoulder.

"OK," Ray answered after a beat. The pressure inside his head had eased up a little when he talked to him.

It had been a ridiculous tough day because, according to Fraser, there was a mild storm behind them and they needed to find good shelter. He'd kept his goggles on and his scarf covering the lower half of his face from the time they'd set off from their previous camp until Ray was heating up some stew and he was feeding Dief and his buddies.

Ray was so hungry that he couldn't wait for Fraser before he started to tuck in the stew. Fraser sat near Ray, picked up his bowl and ate without saying a word.

There was something about the quiet all around them that kept Ray from trying to get a conversation going. Having finished his meal, he gulped down his cup of coffee and got up, stretching his arms in an awkward way because of all the clothes he was wearing. "You mind cleaning up, Frase? I'm beat."

Fraser cleared his throat a few times. Maybe he was getting sick too. "Go on, Ray. I'll turn in soon."

~*~

Now, Ray was from Chicago and, though it's not as nature-heavy like some parts of Canada, they did get scary snowstorms every winter. So it's not as if he was on the verge of freaking out just because it sounded like the end of the world was happening outside of their tent. Besides, Fraser had zipped up their sleeping bags together so he had his own Mountie furnace keeping him toasty. The quest demanded a lot out of both of them. They ended up sleeping nearly 18 hours.

The sun was up by the time Ray's stomach growled him awake. This was the first time he could ever remember waking Fraser up. He turned to his right side and tapped the back of Fraser's head. "Hey, Buddy, it's time to get on with the day."

In response, Fraser twisted around to his left side, his face a few inches away from Ray's. _"What?"_ he said in the tone of voice that told Ray he was still asleep.

For a moment or two, Ray thought he hadn't woken up either. He rubbed his eyes and sat up as best he could, resting the weight of his torso on his elbows. A part of him wanted to jump out of the tent and run far, far away. But he could keep a cool head when it's absolutely necessary. And this was the perfect time to keep calm.

"Fraser, is this a dream?"

 _"No,"_ Fraser said, his eyes still closed though he sounded more alert than a second ago.

Ray's stomach flipped up and down. "OK, then, did the stew go bad? Were there any drugs in the ingredients?"

 _"What are you talking . . . Oh, dear."_ Fraser's eyes open up. Only that, instead of iceberg blue, his eyes were black. As in the entire eye including the parts that are usually white.

That's when all of Ray's calm went out of the tent and he started to wiggle his way out of the sleeping bags. "What the fuck, Fraser? What the ffff--"

One of Fraser's hands covered Ray's mouth as he got most of his body on top of him.

_"Ray, breathe. Calm down."_

The fight-flight instinct kicked into overdrive. Ray tried to throw him off, but couldn't because he had no leverage. Between the cold and his taste for really bad monster movies, his mind went to its most logical conclusion: _He's going to eat me! This is just like The Thing! Oh my god, Fraser's the Thing!_

 _"Well, I can hardly 'eat you' as you say since I lack, well . . . ."_ He lifted his other hand and waved it in front of the place where his mouth would be. Instead, there was nothing but smooth skin from the bottom of his nose all the way to his chin.

Ray blinked several times; still trying to move his body every which way, because there was no way he was going to die in the Arctic eaten by the Thing whether it looked like Fraser or not.

_"I don't know what's the 'Thing' you keep thinking about, Ray, but you have to calm down. There's an explanation for this. Though I had tried to avoid it, it's too late now, I guess. Listen to me, Ray,, I'm going to let go of your mouth and then, get off you, OK?_

Ray squinted his eyes at him for a few breaths before jerking his head. As soon as he felt he had some room, he sat up and put up his fists, ready to fight as he ran a mental catalog of anything nearby that he could use as a weapon.

"You better give me some answers fast, Fraser, if that's your real name, or prepare for some--" Just then, Fraser's eyes began to lighten up until he had his normal ones.

 _"Benton Fraser is my real name."_ He tilted his head for a moment. _"At least, on this planet."_

"Because you're an alien." Ray could improvise with the best.

 _"Allow me to 'state the obvious' as you tend to say: yes, I'm not from this planet. By the way, it's quite pointless to do any kind of 'improvisation' as it were."_ Fraser stared at him. He pointed at his head. _"I'm telepathic."_

One quick inhale and exhale later, Ray was ready for 20 questions. Lowering his hands, he shrugged his shoulders and met Fraser's stare with one of his own. "So, _where_ are you from?"

Fraser relaxed a little. _"I was born on a small planet called Snow Star. It was five and a half light years from here and about the size of Earth's moon."_

"So you were living in an igloo in a galaxy far, far away, playing in the snow and then you ended up here?"

_"War broke out between two neighbouring planets. Though generally a pacifist race, the Corvix had to defend their home."_

Ray let Fraser's words settle down in his mind until something niggled at it. "Wait a minute," he said, frowning, "you said that your planet _was_ all those light years away?"

Just then, Fraser's eyes turned sad. _"I'm the last Corvix, Ray. I would have not made it had it not been for the Doctor."_

"Huh? What doctor?"

 _"That--that's not germane to this conversation."_ Fraser tugged an ear. _"What is important is that he brought me here, to Canada."_

"Because it's cold?"

_"Yes, there's that. The bigger reason is that Earth is considered to be a sanctuary for most alien races."_

Ray raised a hand. "Hold up, Frase. Are you telling me what I think you're telling me? That Earth is some kind of safe haven for Chewbacca, the Coneheads and Mr. Spock?"

Fraser rolled his eyes. _"You do know that all those aliens are fictional ones, correct? Anyway, yes, there are indeed extraterrestrials co-existing with human beings all throughout the planet. You've met some."_

"I have?" Ray made a face. This was growing crazier by the minute.

_"Bruce Spender, Gerome Laferette and Muddy Johnson. Though I don't know which planets they're from, I can tell you that they're not human."_

"Holy shit!" Ray's mind raced every which way. "Who else knows? Um, that you're a coccyx."

 _"I believe you mean "Corvix" and not coccyx. The latter is a bone in your body,"_ Fraser said. _"Other than my adoptive parents and my grandparents, the only living humans who know about my true nature are Quinn, Jack Harkness and you."_

Now it was Ray's turn to frown. "Who's Jack Harkness?" he asked. "And how come I don't know him?"

_"He's an old friend, Ray. And I'm sure you'll meet him eventually."_

Ray waved his hand, switching over to a more important topic. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his mind blank even though it might be pointless seeing how Fraser could see what he was thinking. "So you know what goes on in my head all the time?"

He gave Ray a look that said 'I'm disappointed that you think I'd be so low as to do that, Ray.'

_"No. First, it's highly unethical to eavesdrop. Second, one of the reasons why I've survived here on Earth is by not calling attention to myself. Third, humans think all the time. Even when they're talking. It'd be highly distracting to keep track of a conversation. Fourth, my other senses are quite acute. Finally, it's quite easy for me to push the telepathy into the back of my mind when I'm further south."_

"But you're doing the mind reading thing right now, Fraser."

His sigh echoed in the tent. _"It's . . . difficult not to slip into my 'real' face when we're so up north. I think it has to do with the magnetic pole. The Doctor says that I feel more relaxed here and so, I'm able to let go."_

Ray shrugged. "Maybe it's the Aurora Borealis."

_"It could be. In any case, like I've already told you, the urge to rely on telepathy while I'm here is almost impossible to resist. I was--I was afraid that something like this was going to happen when we set off on this quest--"_

"It did happen, Frase. Otherwise, I wouldn't be talking and you wouldn't be doing the mind thingy."

Fraser dropped his shoulders. _"I never meant any harm by hiding this from you, Ray._

"Yeah, I know that, Benton-Buddy." Ray scratched his neck and gave him a side smile. "The funny thing is that I already knew you were a freak. Guess 'being an alien' never crossed my mind."

Fraser cleared his throat. _It wouldn't be the first thing anyone would think of. Does it bother you? Ahem, who and what I am?"_

Ray bit his lower lips and thought about it for a minute or two. "You know, if I were a _logical_ person, it would. However, my instincts are pretty sharp. Right now, my gut is giving me two thumbs up. Besides, you've already endangered my life in wildly bizarre ways. We're OK." His stomach growled once more. He shimmied out of the sleeping bag and started to put on his heavy winter clothing. Once properly zipped up and semi-warm, he stepped out into the day. "Now let's get some food and see about getting the map out, yeah?"

Fraser didn't say anything. Ray heard him moving around in the tent and then stepping outside to prepare food for the dogs.

When he came back to the fire, some fifteen minutes later, Ray noticed that Fraser's mouth was back on his face. He poured a cup of coffee for the two of them and let his mind drift as he looked up to the sky.


End file.
